3-          F 

I    ~>+ 


CA 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF 


METHUEN, 


FROM    ITS 


SETTLEMENT    TO    THE    YEAR    1876. 


BY  JOS.    S.    HOWE. 


METHUEN,    MASS.: 
E.  L.  HOUGHTON  &  Co.,  PRINTERS,  CURRIER'S  BUILDING,  BROADWAY. 

1876. 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


OF    THE    TOWN    OF 


METHUEN, 


FROM    ITS 


SETTLEMENT    TO    THE    YEAR    1876, 


KY  JOS.    S.    HOWE.   ' 


MKTHUKX,    MASS.: 

K.  L.  HOIIGHTON*  it  Co.,  PRINTERS.  CURRIER'S  BUILDING,  BROADWAY. 
187'). 


F74 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH. 


IT  is  not  attempted  in  the  following  pages  to  present  a  com 
plete  history  of  the  Town  of  Methuen.  The  limited  time  for 
preparation  of  this  Sketch  only  admits  a  recital  of  the  princi 
pal  facts.  No  attempt  to  write  the  early  history  of  this  town 
has  ever  been  made,  and  as  the  old  times  recede,  and  old  peo 
ple  drop  into  their  graves,  much  valuable  material  is  becoming 
lost  forever.  The  investigation  necessary  to  prepare  this 
paper  has  shown,  that  by  proper  effort  many  old  traditions, 
and  much  valuable  information,  might  be  gathered  which 
would  be  of  great  interest  and  value,  not  only  to  us,  but  to 
those  who  come  after  us.  At  present,  however,  we  must  be 
content  with  a  rapid  and  imperfect  statement  of  some  of  the 
principal  facts  in  our  history  as  a  town. 

The  native  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  the  Merrimack  were 
the  Penacook  or  Pawtucket  Indians,  of  whom  the  Chief  was 
Passaconnaway,  always  a  firm  friend  of  the  settlers.  These 
were  subdivided  into  smaller  tribes.  The  Agawams  had  their 
home  on  the  coast,  from  the  Merrimack  to  Cape  Ann  ;  the 
Wamesits  at  the  junction  of  the  Concord  and  Merrimack  riv 
ers  (Lowell)  ;  the  Pentuckets  at  the  mouth  of  "  Little  river," 
in  Havcrhill ;  but  no  evidence  appears  showing  that  any  par 
ticular  Indian  tribe  had  its  home  in  Methuen.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  BodwelPs  falls  (at  the  Lawrence  dam,)  and 
the  shores  of  the  Spicket  as  far  as  "  Spicket  falls,"  were  fa 
vorite  resorts  of  the  Indians,  especially  during  the  fishing  sea 
son.  The  rivers  in  those  early  days,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards,  swarmed  with  salmon,  shad,  ale  wives,  bass 


295859 


4  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

and  sturgeon.  The  salmon  was  the  principal  fish  used  as 
food ;  the  shad  and  alewives  were  used  by  the  Indians  to 
manure  their  corn,  and  their  example  was  followed  by 
the  settlers.  It  is  said  on  good  authority  that  it  was  no  un 
usual  thing  to  specify  in  the  articles  of  agreement  between 
master  and  apprentice  that  the  apprentice  should  not  be  re 
quired  to  eat  salmon  above  six  times  a  week. 

Some  years  before  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  a  vio 
lent  war  broke  out  among  the  Indians,  which  resulted  in  the 
destruction  of  a  large  number.  This  was  succeeded  by  a  pes 
tilence,  which  carried  off  many  more,  so  that  the  number  of 
Indians  found  by  the  first  settlers  in  this  region  was  very  small. 
The  greater  part  of  Methuen  was  at  first  included  in  the  town 
of  Haverhill.  That  town  was  first  settled  in  1640  by  about  a 
dozen  colonists  from  Newbury,  headed  by  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Ward.  Two  years  after,  the  whole  territory  was  purchased 
of  the  Indians,  Passaquo  and  Saggahew,  who  are  supposed 
to  have  been  among  the  last  of  the  Pentuckets.  The  original 
deed — of  which  the  following  is  a  copy — is  now  in  possession 
of  the  city  of  Haverhill  : 

"KNOW  ALL  MEN  BY  THESE  PRESENTS,  that  we,  Passaquo  and 
Saggahew,  with  ye  consent  of  Passaconnaway  :  have  sold  unto  ye 
inhabitants  of  Pentuckett  all  ye  lands  we  have  in  Pentuckett ;  that 
is  eyght  myles  in  length  from  ye  little  Hivver  in  Pentuckett  West 
ward  ;  Six  myles  in  length  from  ye  aforesaid  Kivver  northward  ; 
And  six  rnyles  in  length  from  ye  foresaid  Eivvcr  Eastward,  with  ye 
Ileand  and  ye  rivver  that  ye  ileand  stand  in  as  far  in  length  as  ye 
land  lyes  by  as  formerly  expressed :  that  is  fourteen  myles  in 
length  ; 

And  wee  ye  said  Passaquo  and  Sagga  Hew  with  ye  consent  of 
Passaconnaway,  have  sold  unto  ye  said  inhabitants  all  ye  right  that 
wee  or  any  of  us  have  in  ye  said  ground  and  Ileand  and  Rivver ; 

And  we  warrant  it  against  all  or   any   other  Indians  whatsoever 


OF    METHUEN.  0 

unto  ye  said  Inhabitants  of  Pentuckett,  and  to  their  heirs  and  as 
signs  forever.  Dated  ye  fifteenth  day  of  november  Ann  Dom  1642. 
Witness  our  hands  and  scales  to  this  bargayne  of  sale  ye  day  and 
year  above  written  (in  ye  presents  of  us)  we  ye  said  Passaquo  & 
Sagga  Hew  have  received  in  hand,  for  &  in  consideration  of  ye 
same  three  pounds  &  ten  shillings. 

JOHN    WARD, 

ROBERT  CLEMENTS,  PAQQAnnn  Y?  MAR?E  OF 

(a  bow  and  arrow) 


TRISTRAM    COFFIN,  PASSAQUO.    [SEAL] 

HUGH    SHERRATT, 

WILLIAM  WHITE,  YE  MAKKE  o, 

ye  sign  of  (  1  )  §A  GGrA  HEW  (a  bow  and  arrow) 

THOMAS   DAVIS.  C  SAGGA  HEW.  [SEAL] 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  exactly  what  the  Indians  intended  to 
convey  by  this  deed,  nor  does  it  appear  to  have  been  clear  to 
the  early  settlers;  for  no  -regular  survey  was  made  until  1666, 
when  we  rind  that  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  to  "run  the  bounds  of  the  Town  of  Haverhill."  They 
began  at  the  meeting-house,  which  was  situated  about  half  a 
mile  east  x>f  Little  river,  and  ran  due  west  eight  miles  and 
"reared  a  heap  of  stones"  (which  point  must  have  been  a 
mile  or  two  west  of  Salem  village).  Then  they  ran  from  that 
heap  of  stones  due  south  until  they  touched  the  Merrimack 
(somewhere  near  the  island  east  of  the  Bartlett  farm),  and 
north  until  they  struck  the  northern  line  of  the  town. 

This  western  boundary  of  the  town  remained  unchanged 
until  Methuen  was  set  off  sixty  years  afterwards.  As  finally 
determined  the  shape  of  the  town  of  Haverhill  was  triangular. 
Starting  from  Holt's  Rock  (kt  Rocks  Village,")  the  line  ran 
due  northwest  until  it  met  the  north  and  south  line  from  Mer 
rimack  River,  as  mentioned  above. 

The  strip  of  land,  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width,  be 
tween  Haverhill  Line  and  "Drawcut"  line  seems  to  have  been 
granted  by  the  General  Court  to  individuals.  An  old  plan  in 


O  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

the  County  records  indicates  that  Major  Denison,  who  had  a 
grant  of  600  acres  from  the  General  Court  in  1660,  owned 
more  than  a  thousand  acres  on  the  river,  above  the  Haverhill 
line,  including  what  is  now  the  Bartlett  farm  and  lands  south 
and  west.  West  of  that  was  Col.  Higginson's  farm  of  over 
three  hundred  acres.  A  little  north  of  these  was  Marshall 
Michelson's  tract  of  three  hundred  acres.  Printer  Green  had 
three  hundred  acres  lying  on  each  side  of  the  brook  which 
runs  from  "White's  pond,"  then  called  "North  pond." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  title  to  a  great  portion  of  the 
land  in  Methuen  came  directly  from  the  aboriginal  owners. 
It  is  said  that  the  uplands  at  that  time  were  mostly  covered  by 
a  heavy  growth  of  timber,  except  an  occasional  spot  burned  over 
by  fires  set  by  the  Indians.  The  meadows  were,  many  of 
them,  cleared  and  covered  with  a  tall  and  dense  growth  of 
grass.  The  Indians  were  accustomed  to  burn  the  grass  in  the 
fall,  that  they  might  more  easily  capture  the  deer  resorting  to 
them  to  feed  on  the  young  grass  in  the  spring.  These  mead 
ows  appear  to  have  been  much  sought  after  bv  the  early  set 
tlers,  who  obtained  from  them,  the  principal  subsistence  for 
their  cattle.  They  cut  and  stacked  the  hay  in  the  summer  and 
in  the  winter  drew  it  home  on  sleds.  An  early  writer  says  of 
Haverhill:  "The  people  are  wholly  bent  to  improve  their 
labor  in  tilling  the  earth  and  keeping  of  cattel  whose  yearly 
increase  encourages  them  to  spend  their  days  in  those  remote 
parts.  The  constant  penetrating  further  into  this  Wilderness 
hath  caused  the  wild  and  uncouth  wood  to  be  tilled  with  fre 
quented  ways,  and  the  large  rivers  to  be  overlaid  with  Bridges 
passable  both  for  horse  and  foot;  this  town  is  of  large  extent, 
there  being  an  overweaning  desire  in  most  men  after  meadow 
land,"  &c.  The  records  of  the  town  of  Haverhill  show  that 
no  one  was  admitted  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Colony 
unless  first  voted  in  bv  the  town. 


OF    METHUEN.  ( 

The  lands  were  divided  among  the  inhabitants  in  accord 
ance  with  a  vote  "That  he  who  had  £200  should  have  20 
acres  for  his  house  lot,  and  every  one  under  that  sum  to  have 
acres  proportioned  for  his  house  lot,  together  with  meadow 
and  common  and  planting  ground  proportionally." 

Lot-layers  were  chosen  by  the  town  to  divide  the  land 
among  the  inhabitants  as  it  was  cleared  up  or  became  accessi 
ble.  From  this  mode  of  division  it  happened  that  one  man 
would  own  a  large  number  of  small  lots  scattered  over  the 
whole  town.  It  is  now  very  difficult  to  exactly  locate  the  lots 
as  they  are  recorded  in  the  Haverhill  records,  because  they 
were  usually  bounded  only  by  marked  trees.  These  descrip 
tions  show  that  some  of  our  local  names  were  of  very  ancient 
date.  In  16/3,  thirty-two  acres  of  land  were  laid  off  to  John 
Clements,  bounded  by  "  Sowes  brook."  In  1678,  "eleven 
score  acres  of  upland "  were  laid  off  to  James  Davis,  Sen., 
bounded  on  the  west  fey  Spicket  river,  Spicket  falls  being  the 
southwest  bound.  In  1683,  we  mic^  tne  record  of  a  similar  lot 
lying  on  the  southerly  side,  running  to  "  Bloody  brook"  on 
the  east,  and  taken  up  by  James  Davis,  Jr.  These  lots  in 
cluded  the  land  now  occupied  by  the  east  part  of  Methuen 
village. 

In  16^8,  five  acres  of  meadow  were  laid  off  in  "Strongwa- 
ter"  near  a  "little  pond."  In  1666,  a  parcel  of  meadow  was 
laid  oat  to  Matthias  Button,  on  the  south  side  of  "Spicket 
hill."  In  1659,  there-  was  a  division  of  the  land  west  of  the 
Spicket  river,  with  a  provision  that  "if  more  than  two  acres 
meadow  be  found  on  any  one  lot  it  shall  remain  to  the  town." 
In  the  same  year  we  find  a  record  of  the  laying  off  three  acres 
of  land  in  "Mistake  meadow"  in  the  west  part  of  Haverhill, 
whence  we  conclude  the  name  originated  in  somebody's  blun 
der,  and  by  some  mistake  has  become  "Mystic."  The  distribu 
tion  of  common  lands  was  continued  from  time  to  time,  until 


8  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

finally,  after  much  contention  between  the  old  settlers  and  new 
comers,  the  "Proprietors,"  or  owners  of  the  common  land, 
organized  separately  from  the  town  and  disposed  of  the  re 
maining  land  as  they  saw  fit.  Our  townsman,  David  Nevins, 
Esq.,  has  in  his  possession  a  grant  from  the  "  proprietors,"  of 
the  islands  in  the  Spicket  above  the  falls,  to  Asa  and  Robert 
Swan,  for  £2  10  shillings,  and  bearing  the  date  of  1721. 

We  can  find  no  record  showing  when  the  first  settlement  was 
made  within  the  present  limits  of  Methuen,  or  who  made  it. 
It  is  certain  that  the  east  and  south  parts  of  the  town  near  the 
river,  were  first  occupied,  doubtless  because  they  were  nearer 
the  villages  of  Haverhill  and  Andover.  We  have  been  in 
formed  by  Asa  Simonds,  Esq.,  that  when  repairing  the  old 
"  Bod  well  house" — now  in  Lawrence — some  years  ago,  a  brick 
was  found  bearing  the  date  1660,  which  had  been  marked  upon 
it  before  the  brick  was  burnt.  This  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  a  house  was  built  in  the  neighborhood  near  that  date. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  further  inquiry  may  fix  the  date  and 
place  of  the  first  settlements  here  with  considerable  certainty. 
It  seems  doubtful  whether  there  were  many  settlers  in  Methuen 
until  near  the  time  it  was  set  otT  from  Haverhill.  It  is  likely 
that  the  Indian  troubles  which  extended  over  many  years  pre 
vious  to  1720,  seriously  checked,  if  they  did  not  entirely  pre 
vent,  the  settlement  on  farms.  Andover  and  Haverhill  were 
made  frontier  towns  by  act  of  General  Court  and  both  towns 
suffered  severely  during  the  Indian  war.  But  we  have  never 
seen  a  record  of  an  Indian  attack  on  settlers  living  upon  terri 
tory  which  afterwards  became  Methuen.  There  were  many 
attacks  on  the  scattered  settlers  in  West  Haverhill  and  in  An 
dover,  and  if  there  had  been  many  inhabitants  in  Methuen,  it 
is  hardly  probable  that  the  Indians  would  have  passed  them  by. 
There  are  some  old  traditions  of  encounters  with  the  Indians, 
in  this  town,  which  we  have  not  space  to  relate.  The  most 


OF    METHUEN.  9 

important  of  these  events  took  place  in  Feb.  1698  ;  Jonathan 
Haynes  and  Samuel  Ladd  with  their  two  sons  had  been  to 
London  meadow  from  their  homes,  in  West  Haverhill,  for 
hay,  each  with  a  team  consisting  of  a  pair  of  oxen  and  a  horse. 
The  path  lay  along  betwen  Howe  street  and  World's  End 
pond.  When  returning  home,  just  northeast  of  the  pond,  they 
were  suddenly  set  upon* by  a  party  of  Indians  who  had  con 
cealed  themselves  in  the  bushes  on  each  side  of  the  path. 
These  Indians,  fourteen  in  number,  were  returning  from  An- 
dover  where  they  had  killed  and  captured  several  persons. 
They  killed  Haynes  and  Ladd  with  their  hatchets,  took  one 
of  the  boys  prisoner  and  kept  him  for  some  years  ;  the  other 
boy  cut  one  of  the  horses  loose,  jumped  on  his  back  and  got 
away.  The  Indians  then  killed  the  oxen,  took  out  their 
tongues  and  the  best  pieces  and  went  on  their  way.  We  find 
no  record  of  trouble  with  the  Indians  after  1708. 

In  1712,  nine  persons  living  in  that  part  of  Haverhill  now 
Methuen,  petitioned  the  town  to  abate  their  rates  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  ministry  and  schools,  and  the  town  voted  to  abate 
one-half  their  taxes.  In  1722,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the 
town  of  Haverhill  by  persons  living  in  what  is  now  Methuen, 
to  be  set  off  as  a  separate  town  or  parish.  This  petition  was 
not  granted.  The  next  year  Joshua  Swan  and  26  others,  with 
shrewd  foresight,  petitioned  the  Town  of  Haverhill  to  "set 
oft'  fifty  or  sixty  acres  of  land  southwest  of  Bare  meadow,  to 
gether  with  a  piece  of  land  lying  on  a  hill  commonly  called 
Meeting-house  hill  in  times  past,  reserved  by  our  forefathers 
for  the  use  of  the  ministry,  might  in  hard  times  make  a  con 
venient  parsonage,  if  by  the  blessing  of  God  the  Gospel  might 
so  flourish  amongst  us,  and  we  grow  so  prosperous  as  to  be 
able  to  maintain  and  carry  on  the  Gospel  ministry  amongst 
us."  This  petition  was  granted  at  the  next  town  meeting,  but 
it  did  not  serve  to  make  the  petitioners  less  intent  on  a  separ- 


10  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

ation.  Soon  after,  Lieut.  Stephen  Barker  and  other  inhabitants 
of  the  western  part  of  Haverhill,  petitioned  the  General  Court 
for  an  act  to  incorporate  them  into  a  new  town.  The  act 
passed  in  December,  172^1  and  was  as  follows  : 


"  AN  ACT  for  Dividing  the  Town  of  liaverhill  and  erecting  a  new 
Town  there  and  in  parts  adjacent,  by  the  name  of  Methuen.  Where 
as  the  West  part  of  the  Town  of  Haverhill  within  the  County  of 
Essex,  and  parts  adjacent  not  included  within  any  Township  is 
Competently  filled  with  Inhabitants,  who  labor  under  great  Difficul 
ties  by  their  remoteness  from  the  place  of  IVolick  Worship,  &u., 
and  they  having  made  their  application  to  this  Court  that  they  may 
be  set  off  a  distinct  and  separate  Town  and  be  vested  with  all  the 
Powers  and  Privileges  of  a  Town.  Beit  therefore  enacted  by  the 
Lieutenant  Governor,  Council  and  Uepr&sentatives  in  General  Court 
assembled  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same.  That  the  West  part 
of  the  said  Town  of  Haverhill  with  the  laud  adjoining  be,  and  hereby 
are  set  off  and  constituted  a  separate  Township  by  the  name  of 
Methuen,  the  bounds  of  the  said  Township  to  be  as  follows,  viz  : — 
Beginning  at  the  month  of  Hawkes'  Meadow  Brook,  so  called,  in 
Merrimack  River,  and  from  thence  to  run  half  a  point  to  the  north 
ward  of  the  northwest  to  an  heap  of  stories,  or  till  it  intersect  Hav 
erhill  line  ;  from  thence  upon  a  straight  course  to  the  head  of  Duns- 
table  line,  and  so  upon  Dracut  line  about  four  miles  to  a  pine 
southeast,  frome  thence  six  miles  or  thereabouts  upon  Dracut  line, 
South  to  Merrimack  River,  and  from  thence  to  run  down  said  river 
ten  mile  and  forty  pole  till  it  come  to  the  first  mentioned  bounds. 
An$  that  "the  inhabitants  of  the  said  lands  as  before  described  and 
bounded,  be  and  hereby  are  invested  with  the  Powers,  Priviligcs 
and  Immunities  that  the  Inhabitants  of  any  of  the  towns  of  this 
Province  by  law  are  or  ought  to  be  vested  with. 

Provided,  That  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Town  of  Methuen, 
do  within  the  space  of  Three  Years  from  the  Publication  of  this 
Act.  erect  and  finish  a  suitable  house  for  the  Publick  Worship  of 
God,  and  procure  and  settle  a  Learned,  Orthodox  minister  of  good 
conversation  and  make  provision  for  his  comfortable  and  honorable 
support,  and  that  they  set  apart  a  lot  of  Two  Hundred  arces  of  land 


OF    METHUEN.  11  * 

in  some  convenient  Place  in  the  said  Town,  for  the  use  of  the 
ministry,  and  a  lot  of  fifty  acres  for  the  use  of  a  School.  And  that 
thereupon  they  be  discharged  from  any  further  payments  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  ministry  in  Haverhill.  And  be  it  further  en 
acted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said 
Town  of  Methuen,  be  and  and  hereby  are  empowered  to  assess  all 
the  lands  of  Non  liesidents  lying  within  the  said  town,  Two  pence 
per  acre  towards  the  building  of  the  Meeting  House,  and  settling 
of  a  minister  there.  Provided,  nevertheless  that  there  be  and  here 
by  is  made  a  Reservation  or  Saving  of  the  Right  and  property  of  the 
Province  Lands  (if  any  there  be)  within  the  bounds  aforesaid,  to 
this  Province." 

It  was  ordered  by  the  Court  "that  Mr.  Stephen  Barker,  a 
principal  inhabitant  of  the  Town  of  Methuen  be,  and  hereby 
is  empowered  and  directed  to  notifie  and  summons  the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  said  town  duly  qualified  for  voters,  to  assemble 
and  meet  sometime  in  the  month  of  March  next,  to  choose 
town  officers  according  to  law,  to  stand  for  the  year."  In 
compliance  with  this  order  a  meeting  was  appointed  for  the 
ninth  of  March.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  record  of 
that  first  town  meeting  held  in  Methuen  : 

"  Att  our  first  annual  meeting  in  the  town  of  inethueu,  march 
ye  9th  1725,6  Leutanent  Stephen  Barker  was  leaguly  chosen  mod 
erator  for  ye  meeting. 

Att  the  same  meeting  william  whittier  was  chosen  town  .dark  & 
sworn  for  ye  yer  insewing. 

Att  the  same  meeting  selectmen  war  leaguly  chosen  for  ye  year. 

1  JOHN   BAH, MY,  "|  Select  men  sworn 

2  EBENEZKR  BARKER,  I  to  the  faithful  discharg 

3  ASiE  SWAN,  [-of  the  ofies  of  assesers 

4  DANIEL   BODVVEL,  |  august  ye  second  1726 

5  THOMAS   WHITHER.  J  before  me    William  Whittier 

town  dark. 

att  ye  same  meeting  Richard  swan  is  leaguly  chosen  cunstable  for 
the  year  iusewing. 

voted  that  the  cunstable  or  colector  shall  be  paid  one  shilling  for 


12 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


each  twenty  shillings  of  money  that  he  shall  colect  or  gather  of  the 
Taxes  which  shall  be  laied  upon  the  nonrazedance  or  peopel  which 
belong  to  other  towns.  March  ye  9th  1725,6  the  toun  voated  that 
Thomas  silver  should  be  excepted  to  serve  cunstable  or  colector  in 
stead  of  Kichard  swan  for  ye  year  insewing  and  ye  same  day  thomas 
silver  was  sworn  to  the  fathfull  discharge  of  the  office  of  a  cunsta 
ble  by  the  selectmen  of  methuen.  Robert  swan  is  leaguly  chosen 
town  treasurer  att  the  same  meeting  march  ye  9  for  ye  year  insew 
ing.  town  treasurer  sworn. 


Serveirs  of 
high  ways. 

fence  vewers 

Tithen  men 
field  drivers 


1  ROBERT    SWAN. 

2  EPHRAIM  CLARK, 

3  BENJAMIN   STEPHH 

4  THOMAS   MASSER 


JOHN   I.    CROSS, 
SAMUELL    STEPHENS.     2 


^  of  high  way  e 

1  serveirs  all  sworn. 


Both  sworn, 


1  JAMES    HOW, 

2  WILLIAM    GUTTERSON.  Both  tithen  sworn. 

1  JOHN    HASTINGS, 

2  ZEBADIAH    AUSTING. 


att  the  same  meeting  March  ye  9  1725,0 
hoge  riefs  was  leaguly  chosen 


SAMUEL  SMITH 

hog  riefs 
THOMAS    AUSTING 

Both  sworn. 

Att  ye  same  meeting  march  ye  9  voted  yt  hogs  should  go  att  large 
acording  to  law. 

Att  a  town  meeting  march  ye  9  1725,6, 

Voted  that  the  select  men  should  have 
athadoxt  minester  to  serve  in  the  work  of 
insewing  and  not  to  exceed  five  and  foKfcy 
ester  his  diat. 


power  to  a  gree  with  an 
the  miuestry  for  ye  year 
pownds  and  find  the  min- 


So  far  as  we  can  learn,  no  other  town  in  the  country  bears 
the  name  of  "Methuen."  How  this  name  originated  has  been 
a  matter  of  considerable  speculation.  Some  have  thought 
that  it  took  its  name  from  a  town  in  Scotland  called  "Meth- 
ven,"  and  others  have  supposed  that  this  town  was  named  in 
honor  of  Lord  Methven  of  Scotland.  A.  C.  Goodell,  Esq. , 


OF    METHUEN.  13 

of  Salem,  who  is  engaged  in  preparing  the  Provincial  Laws 
for  publication,  suggests  a  theory  which  we  think  must  be  the 
true  one.  It  was  a  common  thing  in  those  days,  when  a  town 
was  incorporated,  for  the  Governor  to  give  it  a  name.  The 
act  of  incorporation  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  engrossed 
and  sent  to  the  Governor,  with  a  space  for  the  name  in  blank. 
When  it  was  presented  for  his  signature,  he  inserted  the  name 
in  the  proper  place. 

The  original  act  of  Incorporation  of  the  Town  of  Methuen, 
in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  clearly  shows  that  the 
name  was  inserted  by  a  hand  different  from  the  one  that  en 
grossed  the  bill.  The  act  is  written  upon  the  parchment  in  a 
large,  full  hand,  while  the  name  is  written  in  a  small,  running 
hand,  and  with  ink  of  a  different  color,  but  similar  to  that  used 
by  Gov.  Dummer  in  writing  his  signature. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  writing  leaves  little  doubt  that 
Gov.  Dummer  wrote  the  name  with  his  own  hand  when  he 
attached  his  signature.  Of  course  it  is  now  impossible  to  give 
with  certainty  the  reason  which  suggested  the  name  to  him. 
But  at  that  time  there  was  one  Lord  Paul  Methuen  who  was 
Privy  Councellor  to  the  King,  and  who  was  for  some  years  prom 
inent  in  the  English  Government.  It  is  altogether  likely  that 
the  town  was  named  for  him  and  it  is  also  pretty  certain  that 
these  facts  are  about  all  we  can  ever  learn  about  it. 

We  find  from  the  town  records  that  nine  town  meetings  were 
held  during  the  first  year,  and  that  the  principal  business  was 
locating  the  meeting-house  and  perfecting  the  necessary  ar 
rangements  for  religious  service.  At  that  time,  and  for  many 
years  after,  the  minister  and  meeting-house  were  supported  by 
a  town  tax,  as  schools  and  highways  are  now. 

Unfortunately  at  the  outset,  a  bitter  quarrel  sprang  up  con 
cerning  the  location  of  the  meeting-house.  On  the  28th  of 
May,  1726,  a  meeting  was  called  to  u  prefix"  a  place  whereon 


14  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

to  build  a  meeting-house.  Twenty-eight  persons  voted  in  favor 
of  locating  the  house  "between  James  Davis'  and  Samuel 
Smith's  house"  (Powder  House  hill,)  twenty-two  entered 
their  "  dissent  against  the  meeting-house  being  carried  from  the 
meeting-house  land,  or  hill  so  called," — the  land  which  had 
been  granted  by  Haverhill  two  years  before — and  supported 
their  "  dissent"  by  a  quaint  and  vigorous  argument.  The 
dispute  waxed  hot,  meeting  after  meeting  was  held,  votes 
to  provide  labor  and  material  were  carried  and  reconsidered, 
but  the  majority  finally  prevailed  and  the  new  meeting-house 
was  raised  and  boarded  on  "  Powder  House  hill."  The  mi 
nority,  however,  were  determined  not  to  be  beaten,  and  petitioned 
the  General  Court  to  reverse  the  popular  decision.  The  com 
mittee  appointed  by  the  Court  to  visit  the  place  concluded  that 
the  parsonage  lot  "was  the  properest  place  for  the  meeting 
house  to  stand,"  so  the  minority  were  victorious,  and  in  May. 
1727,  the  town  voted  to  remove  the  frame  to  the  "  place  where 
the  Court  ordered  it  should  stand." 

The  town  records  show  that  the  Sunday  services,  as  well  as 
the  town  meetings,  were  held  at  the  house  of  Asie  Swan  until 
the  meeting-house  was  ready  for  occupancy.  Asie  Swan 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  "  prominent  in  those  days"  and  his 
house  is  said  to  have  been  situated  a  little  east  of  Prospect 
hill.  The  meeting-house  was  "  forty  feet  long,  thirty  feet 
wide,  and  twenty  feet  stud."  There  was  but  one  pew,  and 
that  for  the  minister's  family,  the  congregation  generally  being 
seated  on  benches.  There  were  no  means  of  heating  the  house 
in  cold  weather,  until  within  the  recollection  of  persons  now 
living,  and  inthe  coldwinter  mornings  the  humble  worshippers 
must  have  needed  a  fiery  discourse  to  make  them  comfortable. 
It  is  said  that  there  was  a  tavern  in  those  days  on  the  "  Frye 
place  "  to  which  the  meeting  goers  usually  resorted  at  noon, 
where  they  found  a  kettle  of  hot  water  ready,  and  plenty  of 


OF    METHUEN.  15 

spiritual  comfort  less  etherial  than  that  which  they  received 
within  the  sacred  edifice. 

The  first  road  laid  out  by  the  Town  of  Methuen  extended 
from  somewhere  on  u  Hawkes  Meadow  brook  to  James 
Howe's  well,"  and  was  probably  a  part  of  Howe  street  north 
of  the  Taylor  farm.  The  records  of  the  Town  of  Haverhill 
show  that  previous  to  that  time  a  large  number  of  town  ways 
had  been  laid  out  in  the  west  part  of  the  town — probably  for 
convenience  in  reaching  the  meadows  and  woodland.  At  this 
distance  of  time  it  is  almost  impossible  to  trace  them  unless 
they  happen  to  touch  some  well  known  point.  They  general 
ly  commence  at  a  marked  tree,  by  some  path,  thence  to  some 
other  tree,  thence  to  a  stump  marked,  and  finally  come  out  at 
another  path,  and  are  almost  invariably  two  rods  wide. 

The  roads  of  those  days  were  probably  little  better  than  an 
ordinary  cart  path  in  the  woods.  Occasionally  we  find  a 
record  of  money  paid  to  the  owners  of  land  over  which  a  pub 
lic  way  passed,  but  no  money  appears  to  have  been  paid  by 
the  town  for  building.  In  fact  scarcely  more  than  a  path  was 
necessary,  for  there  were  no  vehicles  but  ox  carts  and  sleds. 
People  traveled  on  horseback  and  went  to  market  with  their 
goods  in  saddlebags.  Indeed  it  is  said  by  persons  now  living 
in  the  town  that  within  their  recollection  there  were  no 
wagons  of  any  kind,  or  pleasure  carriages  except  a  few  chaises, 
which  were  introduced  about  the  beginning  of  the  century. 

The  Town  of  Methuen  as  originally  set  ofi0,  included  a  large 
part  of  Salem,  N.  H.,  and  perhaps  a  part  of.  Windham. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  tract  of  land  between  Haverhill 
and  Dracut  not  comprised  within  the  limits  of  any  town.  This 
tract  was  added  to  that  part  of  Haverhill  set  oil*  to  Methuen, 
making  a  town  nearly  as  large  as  Haverhill  after  the  division. 
In  1 741,  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
was  fixed  substantially  as  it  now  runs,  three  miles  from  Mer- 


16  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

rimack  river,  and  parallel  with  it.  We  have  often  wondered 
why  it  was,  that  the  parties  who  fixed  the  State  line,  did  not 
either  make  the  line  straight,  or  make  the  river  the  dividing 
line.  The  facts  seem  to  have  been  as  follows :  The  charter 
first  given  to  the  Massachusetts  colony  granted  "  all  that  part 
of  New  England  lying  between  three  miles  to  the  north  of  the 
Merrimack  and  three  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Charles  river 
and  of  every  part  thereof  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  ;  and  in 
length  between  the  described  breadth  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
to  the  South  Sea."  Under  the  charter  the  Massachusetts  colo 
ny  claimed  that  their  northern  boundary  was  three  miles  to  the 
north  of  the  northernmost  point  of  the  Merrimack,  and  they 
fixed  upon  a  rock  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Winnipisseogee,  as 
the  most  northern  part  of  the  river.  This  would  give  to  Mas 
sachusetts  a  large  part  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and 
a  large  section  in  Maine.  The  New  Hampshire  grantees 
claimed  that  under  the  Massachusetts  charter  the  line  could  not 
extend  in  any  place  more  than  three  miles  from  the  river. 
The  territory  between  these  lines  became  disputed  ground  con 
cerning  which  there  was  constant  contention.  In  1720,  the 
New  Hampshire  colonists  modified  their  claim,  so  far  as  to 
propose  that  the  line  should  begin  at  a  point  three  miles  north 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimack,  and  thence  run  due  west  to 
the  South  Sea.  The  Massachusetts  Colony  refused  to  agree  to 
this,  and  the  contention  became  more  violent  until  finally  the 
Legislatures  of  the  two  colonies  met, — the  New  Hampshire 
Legislature  at  Hampton  Falls,  and  the  Massachusetts  at  Salis 
bury,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  difficulty.  They  appoin 
ted  committees  of  conference,  but  were  unable  to  agree,  and 
after  several  weeks  of  angry  discussion  the  whole  subject  was 
referred  to  the  King  of  England  for  decision.  The  matter  was 
decided  by  the  King  in  Council  in  1740,  and  it  was  decreed 
that  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 


OF    METHUEN.  17 

Bay,  "is  and  be  a  similar  curved  line  pursuing  the  curve  of 
Merrimack  River  at  three  miles  distance,  on  the  north  side 
thereof  and  beginning  at  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 

This  decree  gave  to  New  Hampshire  seven  hundred  square 
miles  more  than  she  asked  for,  and  a  line  crooked  as  the  curve 
of  the  river.  Tradition  says  that  this  decision  was  brought 
about  by  sharp  practice  on  the  part  of  the  agent  appointed  by 
New  Hampshire  to  lay  the  subject  before  the  King.  This 
boundary  line  has  since  remained  unchanged.  It  cut  off  a 
large  slice  of  the  original  territory  of  the  town  of  Methuen, 
but  it  is  nrtt  likely  there  were  many  inhabitants  except  in  the 
neighborhood  of  "  Spicket  hill,"  where  there  must  have  been 
quite  an  important  settlement. 

The  exact  number  of  inhabitants  at  that  time  in  the  whole 
town  is  unknown.  An  old  tax  book  among  the  town  records, 
shows  that  the  number  of  persons  taxed  in  Methuen  in  1 740, 
was  165,  of  which  71  lived  in  that  part  of  the  town  cut  off  by 
the  New  Hampshire  line,  and  85  in  the  present  limits  of 

Methuen. 

i 

The  fact  that  strikes  us  most  forcibly  in  reading  over  the 
early  town  records,  is  the  prominence  given  to  religious  ob 
servances.  The  chief  and  onlv  reason  given  for  setting  off 
the  new  town,  was  that  the  people  might  more  easily  attend 
the  public  worship  of  God.  The  first  business  ckyie  was  to 
provide  themselves  a  minister  and  place  of  public  worship. 
Their  principal  money  tax  was  for  the  support  of  these  objects. 
Nothing  could  show  more  plainly  that  the  hardy  pioneers  of 
Methuen  were  of  genuine  Puritan  stock.  Whatever  we  may 
think  of  Puritan  austerity  and  fanaticism  and  intolerance,  we 
cannot  help  admiring  the  indomitable  energy,  the  iron  will, 
and  lofty  purpose  of  these  men  who  braved  the  dangers  of 
hostile  Indians  and  suffered  the  privations  of  the  wilderness, 
that  they  might  worship  God  in  their  own  way.  The  old  pa- 


18  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

pers  which  have  been  preserved,  the  town  records,  and  the  old 
traditions,  all  show  that  the  first  settlers  in  Methuen  were  men 
of  rugged,  vigorous  intellect,  accustomed  to  think  for  them 
selves,  and  not  afraid  to  express  their  opinions. 

Our  forefathers  seem  to  have  provided  for  the  educational 
interests  of  the  town  at  an  early  date.  In  1733,  we  find  that 
Ebenezer  Barker,  Zebediah  Barker  and  Thomas  Eaton  were 
each  paid  £2  IDS.  for  keeping  school.  In  1731,  the  town 
voted  to  keep  school  one  month  in  Ebenezer  Barker's  house, 
one  month  in  Thomas  Eaton's  and  a  month  at  Joshua  Swan's 
In  1735,  the  town  voted  to  build  a  school-house  18x20  feet, 
near  the  meeting-house,  school  to  be  kept  two  months  at  the 
school-house  and  one  month  at  Spicket  hill.  The  school  ap 
pears  to  have  been  kept  at  the  school-house  part  of  the  time, 
but  chiefly  at  private  houses  until  1792.  Reading  and  writing 
and  a  little  arithmetic  were  the  principal  branches  taught,  and 
the  latter  study  was  not  required.  The  schools  appear  to  have 
been  taught  by  male  teachers  only  until  1749,  when  it  was 
voted  "to  choose  schoolmistresses  to  instruct  children  in  their 
reading.  Also  voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  agree  with 
schoolmistresses  and  appoint  convenient  places  for  them  to  be 
kept  in." 

In  1775?  the  town  was  divided  into  seven  school  districts 
each  of  which  was  to  have  its  proportion  of  the  school  monev, 
provided  it  built  a  comfortable  school-house.  Up  to  that  time 
the  Selectmen  usually  had  the  sole  care  of  the  schools.  Mr. 
David  Nevins  has  in  his  possession  the  return  made  by  the 
committee  whose  duty  it  was  to  build  the  school-houses,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  building  of  them  was  let  out  at  auc 
tion  to  the  lowest  bidder,  and  the  houses  cost  about  £29  each. 
The  town  also  appropriated  in  the  same  year  £30  for  schools, 
and  continued  to  appropriate  that  amount  each  year  until  1792. 
Sixty  pounds  a  year  was  afterwards  appropriated  for  three 


OF    METHUEN.  v       19 

years  or  until  I79S?  when  the  first  mention  of  tk dollars"  ap 
pears  in  the  town  records.  A  pound  at  that  time  appears  to 
have  been  equivalent  to  $3.33.  In  1797.  $300  was  appropri 
ated,  and  the  amount  was  increased  from  time  to  time,  until 
in  1823,  the  sum  appropriated  for  schools  was  $600. 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  the  increase  in  the  annual 
school  appropriation  has  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  growth 
in  population  until  the  present  year,  when  the  amount  ap 
propriated  for  schools  was  $8000. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  town  seem  to  have  "  kept  the  noise 
less  tenor  of  their  way  "  for  the  first  fifty  years  with  little  to 
molest  or  make  them  afraid.  If  any  important  disturbances 
took  place  we  find  no  record  of  them.  There  was  no  census 
until  1765,  but  we  judge  from  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
tax  payers,  that  the  growth  was  simply  the  slow  and  steady 
increase  of  an  exclusively  agricultural  population.  As  the 
land  gradually  became  cleared,  it  become  more  thickly  dotted 
with  dwellings. 

The  produce  raised  upon  the  farms,  and  food  taken  from  the 
river  supplied  nearly  all  the  wants  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
money  necessary  for  their  few  purchases,  and  the  payment  of 
taxes,  was  obtained  partly  by  the  sale  of  wood  and  timber 
which  was  rafted  to  Newburyport,  partly  by  the  production 
of  flax  which  was  sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  Londonderry,  and 
partly  probably  by  the  sale  of  some  unimportant  products, 
such  as  they  could  carry  on  horseback  to  Salem.  Thev  had 
frequent  town  meetings  every  year.  Every  small  matter,  such 
as  is  now  passed  upon  by  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  was  brought 
before  the  whole  town,  even  to  the  allowance  of  the  smallest 
order.  But  the  principal  town  business  was  the  management 
of  religious  matters. 

In  1729,  a  committee  was  chosen  to  "  Discourse  with  Rev. 
Christopher  Sargent  in  order  to  his  settlement  witli  us  in  the 


20  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

work  of  the  ministry."  After  considerable  discussion  between 
Mr.  Sargent  and  the  people,  it  was  voted  to  settle  him,  giving 
him  as  a  salary  <£8o  a  year,  for  four  years,  and  then  =£100  a 
year  so  long  as  he  should  continue  'to  be  their  minister.  It  is 
an  item,  worthy  of  notice — indicating  the  amount  of  wood  then 
necessary  for  a  small  family, — that  Mr.  Sargent,  at  first  asked 
the  town  to  furnish  him  in  addition  to  his  salary  30  cords  of 
wood  per  year.  Mr.  Sargent  remained  pastor  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  until  old  age  forced  him  to  resign  his  charge  in 
1783.  In  the  eloquent  language  of  one  of  his  successors,* 
"After  laying  down  his  work  the  good  old  man  lived  among 
his  people  till  his  death  in  1790,  March  20.  They  buried  him 
in  the  grave  yard  on  Old  Meeting-house  hill  '  and  his  sepulchre 
is  with  us  till  this  day.'  Close  to  the  dear  old  walls  within 
which  for  fifty-three  years  his  voice  had  proclaimed  the  gospel 
of  peace  they  laid  him.  And  so  it  was  that  on  summer  days 
when  the  windows  were  open  and  the  sermon  went  on  the 
straying  breeze,  it  tenderly  carried  the  well  loved  words  from 
the  preachers'  lips  to  his  lowly  mound,  and  waved  the  violets 
above  his  head — and  the  sleeper  slept." 

In  1774,  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  part  of  Methuen  peti 
tioned  to  be  set  off  with  the  easterly  part  of  Dracut  to  make  a 
new  township,  "  so  that  both  the  above  said  towns  may  be 
better  accommodated  to  attend  public  worship."  The  proposed 
line  of  the  new  town  commenced  just  east  of  "  Boclwell's 
ferry"  (Tower  hill),  and  ran  northwest  until  it  met  the  Pro 
vince  line  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  poles  west  of  Splcket 
river,  thus  cutting  oft'  a  large  portion  of  the  town.  There 
was  a  strong  opposition  on  the  part  of  Methuen,  and  the  scheme 
failed. 

About  this  time  we  begin  to  find  indications  of  the  coming 
contest.  The  first  record  we  find  of  any  action  by  the  town 


Rev.  T.  G.  Grassie. 


OF    METHUEN^  21 

relative  to  the  questions  then  stirring  the  public  mind,  is  a  vote 
passed  in  August,  1774,  to  pay  one  pound,  sixteen  shillings  and 
seven  pence,  lawful  money,  to  defray  the  charges  of  the  Prov 
incial  Congress.  A  little  later  in  the  year  the  town  voted  in 
substance,  not  to  pay  the  province  rates,  but  instead,  "That 
the  Selectmen  conduct  themselves  respecting  the  Constable's 
Warrants  according  to  the  Provincial  Congress  Instructions." 

No  other  record  of  any  action  at  that  time  appears  in  the 
regular  records  of  the  town,  but  on  one  of  the  last  leaves  of 
the  book  we  find  the  following : 

"  At  a  leggel  meeting  er  the  freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Methuen  held  By  adjournment  from  the  ninth  of  Au 
gust  1774  to  the  20th  of  September  1774. 

Taking  into  Serious  Consideration  the  S tat )  of  public  Affairs, 
Voted  that  a  Committee  be  chosen  to  consult  and  Advise  with  Each 
other  Likewise  with  Committees  of  other  Towns  and  if  need  be  to 
communicate  to  any  other  Town  any  inesuers  that  may  appear  to  be 
conducive  to  the  publick  Benefite  more  Especlay  to  be  Watch-full 
that  no  Encrochrnents  are  not  made  on  our  Coatitutinal  Rights  and 
Liberties,  that  we  may  enjoy  the  Blessing  we  have  Left  in  peace 
and  not  be  Deprived  of  them  from  aney  quarter  but  may  Devise 
prosecute  the  most  vigerous  and  reseleute  mesures  as  far  as  Lyes  in 
our  sphere  retrieve  our  invaluable  privelages.  Voted  that  this  Com 
mittee  consist  of  fifteen  persons. 

STEPHEN  BARKER  Esq.,  JOHN  MUSE, 

JOHN  BODWELI  ,  JAMES  MALLOON, 

NATHANIEL  PKTTENGILL,     JOHN  PETTENGILL, 
SAMEEL  BODWELL,  LIEUT.  JOHN  SARGENT, 

CUTTING  MARSH,  RICHARD  WHITTIER, 

DAVID  WHITTIER,  EBENEZER  CALTON, 

JONATHAN  SWAN,  JOHN  MASTEN. 

JAMES  JONES, 
Voted  that  the  above  should  be  entered  in  the  Town  Clerks  office. 

That  the  people  began  to  contemplate  the  possibilty  of  war 
with  Great  Britain  is  indicated  by  the  following,  which  is  an 


22 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


exact  copy  of  the  original  now    in    the    possession    of    A.  C. 
Goodell,  Esq.,  of  Salem  : 

"  Whareas  milartrary  Exercise  hath  been  much  nelicked  We  the 
Subcrbers  being  the  first  comptrey  in  methuen  Do  Covenant  and 
Engage  To  from  our  sevels  in  to  a  Bodey  in  order  to  Lam  the  man 
ual  Exercise  To  be  Subegat  To  Such  officers  as  the  Comptrey  shall 
chuse  by  Voat  in  all  constutenel  marsher  according  to  our  Chattaers. 

methuen  ye  6th  or  octr  1774. 


James  Jones, 
Ichabod  Perkins, 
James  Wilson, 
Timothy  Eaton. 
Ebenezer  Colton, 
Thomas  Runnels, 
Henry  Morss, 
.  Samuel  Messer, 
Daniel  Messer, 
Nathl  Haseltine, 
Richard  Hall, 
Samuel  Parker, 
Stephen  Webster,  Jr., 
Jacob  Messer, 
Daniel  R.  Whittier, 
Samuel  Webber, 
Jacob  Hall, 
Amos  Gage, 
John  Cross, 
Nathan  Russ, 
Richard  Jaques, 
Silas  Brown, 
William  Whittier, 
John  Marsten,  Jr., 
Nathaniel  Smith  Messer, 
James  Silver,  Jun., 
Abiel  How, 
Timothy  Emerson, 
Joshua  Emerson.  Jr., 


Robert  Hastings, 
James  Chase, 
Nath.  Herrick, 
Joseph  Hastings, 
Kimball  Calton, 
Richard  Currier, 
Ebenezer  Eaton, 
Simeon  Hasttins, 
John  How,  Jr., 
Farnum  Hall, 
Ephraim  Clark, 
William  Runels, 
Asa  Currier, 
Nathaniel  Messer, 
Ebenezer  Messer, 
Nathan  Perley, 
John  Keley, 
Asa  Messer, 
John  Eaton, 
John  Davison, 
William  Stevens, 
Simeon  Cross, 
Francis  Swan,  Junr, 
James  Davison, 
Jacob  How, 
Elijah  Carlton, 
Joseph  How, 
Jonathan  How, 
Asa  Morss, 


OF    METHUEN.  23 

Oliver  Emerson,  Nathl  Clark, 

Timothy  How,  Jorm  Merrill, 

Isaac  Barker,  Abiel  Cross, 

Theodore  Emerson. 

the  ferst  Compyney  in  Methuen  meat  att  Mr.  Eben  Carlton's  in 
order  To  Chuse  officers,  and  thay  chose  Lieut.  Benj'm  Hall  Moder 
ator,  they  Chose  Mr.  James  Jones  for  thar  Capt.  Mr.  Ichobied 
Perkins  furst  Leut.  Mr.  James  Wilson  Sonent  Lent.  Mr.  Sam  1. 
Messer  Ens.  Mr.  ISath  11.  Messer  Jr.  Clark  for  said  Compyney. 

Clark 

WILLIAM  PAGE      for  sd. 
metten. 
methuen  ye  6  of  Octor  1774. 

In  Jan.  1775,  the  town  voted  to  give  to  the  poor  of  the  Town 
of  Boston  by  subscription,  and  chose  a  committee  to  receive 
the  donations.  At  the  same  meeting  it  was  voted  that  minute- 
men  be  kt  drawn  out  or  exposed  to  train"  who  should  have 
eight  pence  per  day  to  the  last  of  March.  At  the  annual 
meeting  in  March,  it  was  voted  to  provide  bayonets  "  which 
should  be  brought  to  Capt.  John  Davis  and  after  the  service 
was  over  said  Davis  is  to  return  said  bayonets  unto  the  Select 
men  of  said  town."  Soon  after  the  town  voted  to  provide 
guns  for  all  minute-men  unable  to  furnish  themselves,  also  to 
provide  blankets  and  cartridges. 

Another  interesting  document,  dated  about  this  time,  is  also 
found  out  of  place  on  one  of  the  last  leaves  of  the  book  ot 
records,  as  follows : 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  being  appointed  a  committee  by  the  Town 
of  Methuen  to  give  some  instructions  to  a  certain  Committee  of 
Safety  and  Correspondence  that  was  chosen  by  this  town  in  Sep 
tember  last,  or  may  hereafter  be  chosen,  as  above,  that  it  is  recom 
mended  that  the  above  committee  do  strictly  observe  and  conform  to 
the  instructions  hereafter  mentioned. 

First.     That  you  will  be  vigilant  in  this  time  of  public  distress, 


24  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

that  (no)  infractions,  violations  be  made  on  the  good  and  whole 
some  laws  of  this  province  whereby  the  morals  of  the  people  are  en 
dangered  of  being  corrupted,  and  in  case  you  should  be  unsuccessful 
in  your  endeavors  in  all  proper  ways,  then  to  publish  their  names 
that  the  public  may  see  and  know  them  to  be  enemies  to  their  coun 
try  and  the  privileges  of  the  same. 

Secondly.  That  you  correspond  with  committees  of  other  towns 
if  you  see  it  needful,  as  may  be  necessary  on  all  important  occasions. 

Thirdly.  As  a  Committee  of  Inspection,  we  recommend  to  you 
that  you  will  not  buy  or  purchase  any  British  manufactures  or  su 
perfluities  in  your  families,  but  such  as  are  of  absolute  necessity, 
and  likewise  that  you  recommend  to  others  to  do  the  same,  for  we 
think  that  a  reformation  of  this  will  greatly  tend  to  lessen  our  pri 
vate  expense  and  the  better  enable  us  to  bear  the  publick  charges 
and  prevent  those  mischiefs  that  may  ensue  thereupon. 

Fourthly.  That  you  will  suppress  as  much  as  possible  those 
persons,  if  any  such  there  be,  who  travel  as  pedlers  to  introduce 
British  goods  and  impose  on  the  inconsiderate  which  may  impover 
ish  us.  And  whereas  it  is  said  that  our  enemies  are  sending  out 
spies  in  order  to  get  information  of  our  schemes  and  plans  which 
are  contrived  for  our  defense,  so  as  they  may  frustrate  them,  it  is 
recommended  that  you  take  care  that  they  receive  that  resentment 
due  to  their  deeds. 

Fifthly.  If  any  trader  or  other  person  within  this  town  shall 
take  the  advantage  of  the  present  distressed  circumstances  in  Amer 
ica,  and  by  an  avaricious  thirst  after  gain  shall  raise  the  price  of 
any  comodity  whatsoever  beyond  their  usual,  reasonable  price,  or 
shall  use  their  influence  by  words  or  actions  to  weaken  the  measures 
advised  by  the  Grand  Continental  Congr<  ss,  when  made  to  appear 
to  you  that  he  or  they  persist  in  the  same,  you  are  to  publish  their 
names  that  they  may  be  publickly  known  and  treated  as  enemies  to 
their  country. 

JAMES  IN  GALLS, 
JONATHAN  SWAN,    ^    Committee. 
JOHN  H  USE, 
Methuen,  April  4th,  1775. 


OF    METHUEN.  25 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  paper  was  dated  about  two  weeks 
before  the  battle  of  Lexington.  It  indicates  the  resolute  delib 
erate  earnestness  with  which  our  fathers  entered  the  contest, 
and  that  our  humble  ancestors  in  Methuen  were  as  fully  im 
bued  with  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  tyranny  as  the  more  widely 
known  men  of  the  time.  Our  town  records  are  silent  in  re 
gard  to  the  events  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill.  It  probably 
never  occurred  to  our  ancestors  that  their  children  would  listen 
to  a  recital  of  their  actions  on  those  great  days,  with  a  feeling 
of  pride  such  as  no  other  event  in  our  history  can  arouse. 

But  fortunately  we  are  not  without  an  official  record  of  the 
part  Methuen  had  in  those  great  events.  The  archives  at  the 
State  House  contain  the  names  of  those  who  went  from  Me 
thuen  on  the  memorable  I9th  of  April,  and  also  the  names  of 
the  Methuen  company  who  fought  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
So  many  Methuen  people  will  take  an  honest  pride  in  seeing 
the  names  of  their  ancestors  included  in  that  roll  of  honor,  that 
we  give  the  full  list  of  names  just  as  they  are  found  on  the 
original  muster  rolls  now  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  State. 

"Capt.  John  Davis'  Company,  in  Col.  Frye's  Regt.  enlisted 
Feb.  i/fth,  1775"  : 

Capt.,  John  Davis  Amos  Harramon, 

ist  Lieut.,  Nath'l  Herrick  Daniel  Morse, 

2d     "     Eliphalet  Bodwell,         James  Ordway, 
Sergt.,  Eleazer  Carleton,  Ebenezer  Herrick, 

44     Richard  Hall,  Daniel  Messer, 

44     Francis  Swan,  Nathan  Russ, 

**     Jona.  Barker,  James  Ingalls, 

Corp'l,  Jonathan  Baxter,  James  Davison, 

'•     William  Stevens,  Amos  Gage,  drummer, 

44     John  Davison,  Joseph  Morse, 

14    Joshua  Emerson,  Dudley  Noyes, 


26  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

James  Campbell,  Joseph  Hibbard, 

Silas  Brown,  Prince  Johnnot, 

Enos  Kings  Daniel  Jennings, 

Asa  Morse,  Wm.  Whitcher, 

Eben'r  Pingrief,  Nathan  Swan, 

Simeon  Tyler,  Peter  Barker, 

Joseph  Jackson,  Peter  Webster, 

Aaron  Noyes,  John  Swan, 

Parker  Bodwell,  Daniel  Bailey,  i 

Solomon  Jennings,  Thomas  Bace, 

Joshua  Bodwell,  Jeremiah  Stevens, 

Dudley  Bailey,  Ebenezer  Sargent, 

James  Silver,  John  Merrill, 

Samuel  Barker,    Fifer. 
This  muster  roll  made  for  seven  days  from  April  I9th. 

Sworn  to.  JOHN  DAVIS. 

49 

"  Muster  roll  of  the  following  number  or  party  of  men  that 
belonged  to  Methuen,  in  the  County  of  Essex,  on  the  alarm 
on  the  1 9th  of  April,  1775,  and  never  joined  to  any  particular 
commanding  officer"  : 

Capt.,  James  Mallon,  Timothy  Chellis, 

Abner  Morrill,  Bodwell,  3d, 

Isaac  Austin,  Austin,  Jr., 

Isaac  Austin,  Jr.,  Parker,  Jr., 

Benj.  Herrick,  Obadiah  Morse, 

Peter  Harris,  Wm.  Russ,  Jr., 

Joseph  Griffin,  Wm  McCleary, 

Francis  Richardson,  Hezekiah  Parker, 

Elisha  Parker,  Jesse  Barker, 

John  Parker,  Jr.,  Moses  Morse, 

Isaac  Hughs,  James  Dennis. 

22 


OF   METHUEN. 


27 


4 'The  pay  roll  of  the  company  under  the  command  of  Major 
Samuel  Bodwell,  exhibited  in  consequence  of  the  alarm  on 
the  1 9th  of  April"  : 


ist  Lieut.,  David  VVhittier, 

2d      "        Nath.Pettengill, 

Ensign,  Enoch  Merrill, 

Clerk,  John  Hughs, 

Sergt.,  John  Mansur, 

Wm.  Gutterson, 

Nath'l  Pettengill, 

Thomas  Pettengill, 

Dudley  Pettengill, 

Daniel  Tyler, 

John  Pettengill,  Jr.,      % 

Sam'l  Cross, 

John  Bodwell, 

Parker  Richardson, 

Thos.  Dow, 

Wm.  Bodwell, 

Wm.  Morse, 

John  Barker, 

Simeon  Dow, 

Samuel  Cole, 

Samuel  Hughs, 

John  Pettengill, 


John  Webber, 
Benj.  Mastin, 
Elijah  Sargent, 
Joshua  Stevens, 
John  Whittier,  Jr., 
Abel  Merrill, 
Joseph  Merrill, 
John  Richardson, 
Wm.  Richardson, 
Nath'l  Hibbard, 
James  Hibbard, 
Bodwell  Ladd, 
John  Ladd, 
Stephen  Barker, 
Mitchell  Davis, 
Eben'r  Barker, 
Nehemiah  Barker, 
Sam'l  Richardson, 
Enoch  Cheney, 
Jona.  Barker,  Jr., 
Benj.  Stevens,  J., 
John  Hibbard,  Jr., 
Wm.  Hibbard. 
45 


"  Capt.  James  Jones'  pay  roll  for  the  campaign  on  the  defence 
of  the  country  at  the  battle  at  Concord,  made  at  the  rate  of  28 
days  per  month,  4  days'  service  "  : 

Capt.,  James  Jones,  Isaac  Barker, 

Lieut.,  Ichabod  Perkins,  Day  Emerson, 


28  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

Sergt.,  Timothy  Eaton,  Joseph  Perkins, 

u         Nathan  Perley,  Jona.  How, 

Ephraim  Clark,  Nath'l  S.  Clark, 

u        Jacob  Messer,  John  Tippets,  3d, 

Corp.,  Nath'l  Haseltine,  Oliver  Emerson, 

"       Elijah  Carleton,  James  Messer, 

"        Simeon  Cross,  Henry  Mors, 

Drummer,  John  Kelly,  Stephen  Webster,  Jr., 

Abiel  Cross,  Elisha  Perkins, 

William  Page,  Job  Pingrey, 

Moses  Sargent,  Joseph  Cross, 

James  Fry,  Asa  Cross, 

Thomas  Herrick,  John  Morris, 

Joseph  Granger,  Kimball  Carleton, 

32 

In  the  Company  of  Capt.  Charles  Furbush  : 
Theodore  Emerson,  James  Silver, 

Isaac  Maloon,  Jomi  Hancock, 

Jos.  Pettengill,  Nehemiah  Kidah, 

Abraham  P.  Silver,  Daniel  Pettengill. 

8 

Total  156. 
* 
The  number  of  inhabitants  in  Methuen  in  1776,  according 

to  the  Colonial  Census,  was  1326.     The  old  tax  book  of  that 
year  gives  the  names  of  252  poll  tax  payers. 

Prabably  every  one  will  share  our  own  astonishment  to  find 
that  old  Methuen  sent  156  men  at  the  first  call  to  meet  the 
British.  This  would  now  be  equivalent  to  about  600  men,  or 
more  than  we  see  presenr  at  an  annual  town  meeting.  Noth 
ing  we  have  ever  heard  or  read  so  forcibly  impresses  us  with 
the  universal,  deep-seated  determination  of  our  fathers  to  pro 
tect  their  rights,  at  all  hazards,  as  this  simple  list  of  names. 
No  orator  has  so  eloquently  told  the  story  of  the  popular  up- 


OF    METHUEN.  29 

rising  when  Concord  and  Lexington  were  attacked.  When 
we  consider  that  they  were  not  called  out  by  any  order  of  the 
authorities,  that  their  enthusiasm  had  not  been  stirred  by  ap 
peals  from  the  daily  press  or  by  public  speakers,  that  they  only 
knew  from  the  signal  guns  and  fires  on  the  hills  that  the  British 
were  in  motion,  and  that  nearly  every  able-bodied  man  in  town, 
must,  of  his  own  accord,  have  shouldered  his  musket  and 
marched,  at  a  moment's  warning,  to  meet  the  foe,  we  cannot 
help  feeling  the  blood  tingle  in  our  veins  with  an  honest  pride 
in  such  an  ancestry.  If  this  was  a  sample  of  the  Revolution 
ary  spririt,  all  wonder  ceases  that  the  colonies  were  successful 
against  such  fearful  odds. 

No  other  important  event  took  place  until  the  battle  of  Bunker 
*Hill,  on  the  i7th  of  June  following,  in  which  it  is  certain  that 
a  Methuen  company  bore  an  important  part.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  the  original  muster  roll  on  file  at  the  State  House  : 

Cambridge,  Oct.  5,  1775. 

"Return  of  the  men's  names,  when  they  enlisted,  and  where 
they  belonged.  Belonging  to  Capt.  John  Davis'  Company  in 
Col.  Frye's  Regiment : 

Capt.,  John  Davis,  Jeremiah  Stevens, 

ist  Lieut.,  Nath'l  Herrick,         James  Silver, 
2cl     u     Eliphalet  Bodwell,          Simeon  Tyler, 
Major,  Jonathan  Barker,  Drummer,  Amos  Gage, 

Serg.,  Ebenezer  Carleton,          Fifer,  Samuel  Barker, 
"     Richard  Hall,  James  Campbell, 

"     Francis  Swan,  James  Davison, 

u     Peter  Barker,  Mitchel  Davis, 

Corp.,  Jonathan  Baxter,  Amos  Harriman, 

"     William  Stevens,  Lazarus  Hubbard, 

"     Joshua  Emerson,  Ebenezer  Herrick, 

"     John  Davison,  Died  June  17. 


30  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

Abraham  Anness,  Joseph  Hibbard, 
John  Asten,  Died  June  20. 

Silas  Brown,  James  Ingalls, 
Parker  Bodwell,  Died  July  8. 

David  Bailey,  Dudley  Noyes, 

Dudley  Bailey,  Aaron  Noyes, 

Timothy  Chellis,  Peter  Webster, 

David  Corliss,  James  Woodbury, 

James  Ordway,  Ebenezer  Sargent, 

Samuel  Parker,  Ebenezer  Pingrief, 

Thomas  Pace,  Joshua  Bodwell, 
Nathan  Russ,  In  train  June  17. 

John  Swan,  Solomon  Jennings, 
Nathan  Swan,  In  train  June  17.' 

47 

It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  above  list  includes  the 
names  of  all  Methuen  men  in  the  service  at  that  time.  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  our  knowledge  of  the  particular 
part  which  the  Methuen  Company  had  in  that  battle  is  so 
meager.  It  is  known  that  it  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
and  that  it  was  among  the  last  to  leave  the  redoubt.  It  is  said 
that  it  came  near  being  surrounded  towards  the  end  of  the  bat 
tle,  and  that  as  the  enemy  came  up  on  each  hand  a  British  sol 
dier  ran  up  to  Capt.  Davis,  saying,  "You  are  my  prisoner." 
Capt.  Davis,  who  was  a  resolute,  powerful  man,  replied,  "  I 
guess  not,"  at  the  same  time  running  the  soldier  through  with 
his  sword. 

The  blood  spurted  over  his  breeches  as  he  drew  back  the 
sword,  but  he  made  his  escape.  It  is  also  said  that  he  took 
one  of  his  wounded  men  upon  his  back  just  after  escaping 
from  the  redoubt,  and  carried  him  out  of  the  reach  of  danger. 
As  he  was  crossing  the  hollow  between  the  hills,  which  was 
exposed  to  the  fire  from  a  British  vessel,  he  saw  before  him  a 


OF    METHUEN.  31 

board  fence.  Capt.  Davis,  tired  by  excitement  and  the  weight 
of  his  comrade,  said  :  "I  don't  see  how  we  can  get  over  that 
fence."  But  in  an  instant  after,  a  cannon  ball  knocked  it  in 
pieces  and  left  the  way  clear. 

There  are  probably  many  old  stories  and  traditions  of  the 
battle  still  remembered  by  the  older  of  our  inhabitants,  which 
would  be  of  much  interest  if  collected.  Mr.  Asa  M.  Bodwell 
tells  a  story  of  James  Ordway,  who  afterwards  lived  on  the 
west  side  of  Tower  hill : 

Mr.  Ordway,  was  in  poor  circumstances  in  his  old  age,  and 
had  a  bad  ulcer  on  his  leg.  Mr.  Bodwell  says  that  his  father 
sent  him  one  day  to  Mr.  Ordway  with  a  gallon  of  rum  to 
bathe  his  lame  leg,  and  with  it  a  message  saying  that  the 
rum  was  sent  to  pay  for  throwing  stones  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill !  The  story  being,  that  when  the  ammunition  gave 
out,  at  the  close  of  the  battle,  Ordway  laid  down  his  gun  and 
threw  stones  at  the  British  until  driven"*  out.  It  is  impossible 
to  imagine  the  intense  anxiety  with  which  our  ancestors,  who 
remained  at  home,  must  have  listened  throughout  that  long 
summer  day,  to  the  roar  of  artillery,  which,  tradition  says, 
could  be  plainly  heard.  The  anxiety  must  have  been  two-fold  ; 
first  to  know  on  which  side  the  victory  would  rest  in  the  un 
equal  contest,  and  also  whether  the  booming  of  the  guns  which 
they  heard  with  such  terrible  distinctness  was  not  the  death 
knell  of  the  dear  ones  whom  they  knew  were  in  the  fight. 
Such  forebodings  were  not  unfounded,  for  Methuen  lost  three 
men  on  that  day.  Ebenezer  Herrick  was  killed  in  the  battle  ; 
Joseph  Hibbard  was  wounded  and  died  June  20 ;  James  In- 
galls  was  wounded  and  died  July  8. 

It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  number  of  soldiers  Methuen 
had  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  without  making  a  more  extend 
ed  examination  of  the  State  records  than  the'  time  allowed  for 
the  preparation  of  this  paper  will  admit.  The  town  records 


32  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

give  no  information  on  this  point,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that 
Methuen  kept  her  quota  in  the  field.  There  are  stories  told 
in  town  of  events  that  happened  to  Methuen  men  who  went 
to  fight  Burgoyne,  and  also  to  others  who  were  stationed  on 
the  coast.  During  those  years  the  town  business  went  on  as 
usual.  Mr.  Sargent's  salary  was  voted  by  the  town  each  year 
unil  1778,  after  which  we  find  no  record  of  money  raised  by  the 
town  to  support  the  minister.  A  committee  of  Safety  and  Cor 
respondence  was  appointed  each  year,  and  in  February,  1778, 
the  town  voted  that  the  Selectmen  should  supply  the  families 
of  soldiers  in  the  Continental  Army  with  the  necessaries  of 
life. 

At  the  same  meeting  the  town  was  called  upon  to  see  what 
instructions  it  would  give  to  their  Representative,  relative  to  a 
resolve  of  the  Continental  Congress  for  all  the  United  States 
of  America  to  join  in  a  perpetual  union  with  one  another. 
The  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Major 
Bodwell,  Capt.  James  Jones,  Col.  Thomas  Poor,  Lieut.  John 
Huse  and  Mr.  Enoch  Merrill.  At  an  adjourned  meeting  the 
question  was  put  whether  the  town  would  receive  and  accept 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual  union,  and  "voted 
in  the  affirmative."  The  currency  question  seems  to  have 
troubled  our  fathers  at  this  time,  for  we  find  a  vote  passed  in 
April,  "  that  those  who  refuse  to  take  the  Continental  currency 
should  be  treated  as  enemies,  and  published  in  the  Boston 
newspapers."  The  rapid  decrease  in  value  of  this  currency 
is  shown  by  the  fact,  that  while  in  '77  £30  was  raised  to  re 
pair  highways,  in  'Si  £6000  was  raised  for  the  same  purpose 

In  1780,  the  new  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Massachu 
setts  took  effect,  and  in  that  year  we  find  the  first  record  of  a 
vote  for  Governor  and  Senators.  That  party  feeling  did  not 
run  very  high  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  for  the  office  of 
Governor,  John  Hancock  had  sixty-four  votes  and  James  Bow- 


OF    METHUEN.  33 

doin,  two.  The  town  furnished  the  equipments  for  its  soldiers 
and  towards  the  end  of  the  war  we  find  recorded  votes  to  fur 
nish  beef  and  corn. 

In  the  fall  of  1780  Methuen  furnished  8780  pounds  of  beef, 
and  hired  sixteen  men ;  the  next  year  the  town  furnishod 
twelve  men.  We  find  nothing  in  the  town  records  to  indicate 
the  end  of  the  war  except  a  vote  to  sell  the  entrenching  tools 
belonging  to  the  town.  Judging  from  the  census  returns,  and 
tax  lists,  it  seems  that  Methuen  grew  but  little  in  wealth  and 
population  during  the  forty  years  subsequent  to  the  Revolution 
ary  war.  In  the  war  of  1812,  Methuen  sent  her  proportion  of 
men  to  meet  the  old  enemy.  Some  of  the  survivors  are  with 
us  to  this  day.  Our  townsman,  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Pecker,  one  of 
the  veterans  of  the  war,  tells  us  that  the  number  of  men  called 
from  Methuen  was  not  large.  They  were  mostly  stationed  to 
defend  the  forts  along  the  coast.  We  are  told,  however,  that 
a  small  company  went  from  Methuen  to  meet  the  British  in 
Canada,  and  that  they  were  present  at  the  surrender  of  Hull. 

In  1793,  a  company  was  organized  to  build  a  bridge  over 
the  Merrimack,  at  Bodwell's  falls.  Soon  after,  a  meeting  was 
held  to  see  if  the  town  would  send  a  remonstrance  to  the  Gen 
eral  Court  against  its  erection.  This  proposition  was  decided 
in  thenegative.  The  opponents  of  the  bridge  then  called  a  meet 
ing  to  see  if  the  town  would  petition  the  General  Court  to  or 
der  the  proprietors  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  town  roads  leading  to 
the  bridge.  This,  also,  was  voted  down,  and  the  town  decid 
ed  to  repair  the  road  over  Currant's  hill  to  New  Hampshire 
line.  Up  to  that  time,  ferries  had  furnished  the  only  means  of 
crossing  the  Merrimack.  We  find  mention  of  five  different 
ferries,  as  follows : 

11  Gage's  Ferry,"  near  the  house  of  Samuel  Cross. 
u  Swan's  Ferry,"  at  Wingate's  farm. 


34  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

u  Marston's  Ferry,"  at  the  Alms  House,  Lawrence. 
"  Bodwell's  Ferry,"  at  the  Pumping  Station,     " 
"  Harris'  Ferry,"  a  little  east  of  Dracut  line. 

The  Bridge  was  built  shortly  after,  and  for  some  years  the 
travel  from  thence  to  New  Hampshire  passed  over  u  Currants 
hill."  The  "  Turnpike"  was  built  in  1805-6,  by  an  incorpor 
ated  company.  A  system  of  toll  was  established,  but  it  caused 
such  dissatisfaction  that  in  a  few  years  it  was  made  a  public 
road.  We  are  told  that,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  there 
were  only  six  houses  in  the  now  thickly  settled  part  of  Methu- 
en  Village  : — 
"  The  Miller  Cross  House,"  corner  of  Hampshire  and  Lowell 

streets. 

"  Sargent  House,"  where  hotel  stands. 
"Dea.  Frye,"  Butter's  place. 
"  Swan  Place,"  David  Nevins'  Farm. 
"  Jona.  ClufF  House,"  mill  yard. 
"John  Sargent,"  at  elm  tree,  by  mill  yard. 

There  was  then  one  grist  mill,  a  little  south  of"  Fulton's 
store,  another  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  a  fulling 
mill  just  below  the  foot-bridge  at  the  falls.  The  first  store  in 
town  was  opened  by  Abial  Howe  at  a  building  on  Howe  St. , 
nearly  opposite  the  house  of  Charles  L.  Tozier.  The  exact 
date  is  unknown,  but  it  is  within  the  recollection  of  persons 
now  living.  The  town,  at  that  time,  and  long  afterwards  was 
a  farming  community.  Their  markets  were  so  far  away  that 
their  money  incomes  must  have  been  small.  They  depended 
on  the  city  of  Salem  as  a  market  for  their  produce,  and  their 
wood  and  timber  was  rafted  to  Newburyport. 

These  two  places  were  the  only  outlets  of  importance  for 
their  surplus  products  until  after  the  City  of  Lowell  was 
started.  Then,  everything  except  wood  was  carried  there, 


OF    METHUEN.  35 

and  the  farmers  found  the  new  market  greatly  for  their  advan 
tage.  Lowell  continued  to  be  the  principal  market  for  agri 
cultural  products  until  the  building  of  Lawrence  furnished  a 
more  convenient,  and  in  some  respects.,  better  market  than 
Lowell,  and  gave  the  farmers  of  Methuen  as  good  facilities  for 
the  successful  cultivation  of  the  land,  as  can  be  found  in  any 
part  of  New  England.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  curious  fact  which 
we  shall  not  attempt  to  discuss,  that  the  population  of  Methuen 
outside  of  the  village  is  no  larger  in  1876  than  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

From  the  old  traditions,  we  should  judge  that  the  manufac 
ture  of  hats  has  been  carried  on  in  Methuen  from  a  very  early 
date.  No  doubt  in  a  very  small  way  at  first,  but  there  are  sev 
eral  places  in  the  east  part  of  the  town  pointed  out  as  the  site 
of  "  hatters'  shops."  The  work  was  then  done  entirely  by 
hand,  and  half  a  dozen  men  or  less  could  carry  on  the  whole 
business  of  a  shop.  With  the  introduction  of  machinery,  the 
business  has  been  concentrated  into  a  few  factories,  which 
have  largely  increased  the  production,  and  now  make  up  a  very 
important  portion  of  the  business  of  the  town. 

A  similar  statement  would,  perhaps,  be  true  of  the  shoe 
business.  In  the  early  times  shoemaking  was  not  carried  on 
to  so  great  an  extent  as  hatting.  But  within  the  recollection 
of  many  of  us,  there  was  a  shoemaker's  shop  in  every  neigh 
borhood  and  at  nearly  every  house  in  town.  Shoes  were  then 
all  made  by.  hand  and  the  workmen  took  out  the  stock  for  a 
"set"  and  carried  it  home  to  make.  In  a  still  summer  day  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  get  away  from  the  noise  of  the  shoe 
maker's  hammer,  which  sounded  like  the  drumming  of  a  part 
ridge,  as  he  gave  the  shoe  a  few  final  raps  after  he  finished 
driving  the  pegs.  This  business,  as  every  one  knows,  is  now 
centred  in  factories  where  by  the  use  of  machinery  the  manu 
facture  is  largely  increased.  In  past  times  it  is  probable  that 


36  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

more  persons  have  been  dependent  on  the  shoe  business  for  a 
livelihood,  than  on  the  manufacture  of  hats.  It  is  not  known 
precisely  when  Spicket  falls  was  first  utilized  as  a  water  pow 
er.  Mr.  Nevins  has  in  his  possession  a  deed  from  the  widow 
of  John  Morrill,  dated  Dec.  1709,  in  which  she  conveys  to 
Robert  Swan,  for  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds,  one-fourth  of  a 
sawmill  and  land  "on  Spicket  river  falls,  the  mill  that  was 
built  by  and  belonged  to  and  amongst  Robert  Swan,  John 
Morrill  and  Elisha  Davis."  Without  doubt  this  was  the  first 
mill  built. 

Afterwards  a  grist  mill  was  built  on  each  side  of  the  river, 
and,  as  there  was  not  business  enough  to  keep  them  both  run 
ning,  it  was  agreed  between  them  that  they  should  run  on  al 
ternate  weeks.  This  arrangement  was  kept  up  until  the  cot 
ton  factory  was  built.  We  are  informed  that  the  first  cotton 
factory  was  built  somewhere  near  1812  by  Stephen  Minot,  Esq., 
of  Haverhill,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  This  was  burnt 
in  1818,  and  soon  after  rebuilt.  In  July,  1821,  the  whole 
privilege  and  lands  connected  therewith  were  purchased  by 
the  Methuen  Company.  The  old  carding  or  fulling  mill 
which  had  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  falls,  was  moved 
away  and  converted  into  a  dwelling  house,  which  now  stands 
on  the  north  side  of  Pelham  street.  In  1826-7  tne  brick  mill 
was  built  as  it  now  stands.  In  1864  the  property  came  into 
the  possession  of  David  Nevins,  Esq.,  by  whom  it  has  been 
greatly  increased  in  capacity  and  value,  and  to  whose  enter 
prise  the  town  is  largely  indebted  for  its  recent  prosperity. 

In  1824,  a  sawmill  and  gristmill  were  built  where  the  Me 
thuen  woolen  mill  stands.  They  came  into  the  possession  of 
Samuel  A.  Harvey,  Esq.,  by  whom  the  business  of  the  re 
spective  mills  was  carried  on  for  some  years.  In  1864,  a 
factory  was  built  by  the  Methuen  Woolen  Co.,  and  soon  after 
put  in  operation. 


OF    METHUEN.  37 

According  to  the  census  returns  the  population  increased 
but  little  from- 1776  until  1820.  The  building  of  the  cotton  mills 
and  increase  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes  and  hats,  enlarged  the 
business  and  population  of  the  town  so  that  it  gained  about 
seventy  per  cent,  in  the  next  twenty  years.  During  that  time 
there  were  few  events  requiring  particular  notice.  In  1837,  ^ 
appears  that  a  new  town  house  was  talked  about  and  a  com- 

* 

mittee  was  chosen  at  the  March  meeting  to  select  location 
and  prepare  estimates.  The  committee  reported  at  an  adjourn 
ment,  and  the  town  voted  to  build.  A  week  or  two  afterwards 
another  meeting  was  called,  the  vote  reconsidered  and  com 
mittee  discharged.  The  same  year,  the  Selectmen  were  au 
thorized  to  hire  the  Baptist  meeting-house  for  holding  town 
meetings.  That  house  continued  to  be  the  place  for  town 
meetings  until  the  present  town  house  was  built,  in  1853. 

In  1844  rumors  began  to  circulate  of  a  project  to  dam  the 
Merrimack,  and  build  factories,  at  Bodwell's  falls.  The  town 
voted  to  give  Daniel  Saunders  and  his  associates  a  refusal  of 
the  town  farm, — which  was  situated  on  the  east  side  of  Broad 
way,  south  of  Haverhill  street — at  its  cost,  with  an  addition 
of  thirty-three  per  cent.  The  terms  on  which  the  Essex  Co. 
bonded  the  land  now  occupied  by  the  principal  part  of  Law 
rence,  were — a  fair  cash  value,  with  an  addition  of  thirty-three 
per  cent.  The  land  was  bought  in  due  time,  and  the  "  New 
City,"  as  it  was  then  called,  grew  with  wonderful  rapidity. 
We  are  told  that  there  were  then  only  nine  or  ten  houses  stand 
ing  on  what  is  now  the  thickly-settled  part  of  Norfti  Lawrence. 
A.  Durant,  had  a  paper  mill  on  the  Spicket,  a  short  dis 
tance  above  its  mouth.  In  1847  Chas.  S.  Storrow  and  oth 
ers  petitioned  for  an  act  of  incorporation  as  a  new  town,  to  be 
named  Lawrence.  A  town  meeting  was  called,  and  the  town 
voted  to  oppose  the  division,  and  chose  John  Tenney  and  Geo. 
A.  Waldo  to  oppose  the  petition,  before  the  Committee  of  the 


38  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

Legislature.  Their  efiorts  were  unsuccessful,  and  Methuen 
lost  a  large  section  of  her  territory.  The  publication  of  a 
newspaper,  called  the  "  Methuen  Falls  Gazette  "  was  com 
menced  here  in  January,  1835,  by  S.  J.  Varney.  It  had  a 
short  existence,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no  weekly  pa 
per  until  the  publication  of  the  "  Transcript  "  the  present  year. 

Old  residents  of  the  town  will  call  to  mind  many  matters  of 
much  interest  in  their  day,  such  as  the  bickerings  about  the  en 
forcement  of  the  liquor  law,  the  efforts  made  to  suppress  the 
liqor  traffic  in  Salem,  the  contests  over  the  dividing  lines  of 
.school  districts,  and  the  building  of  new  roads,  but  they  need 
not  be  recited  here.  From  1850  to  1865  there  was  little  change 
in  population. 

In  1860,  came  the  war  which  laid  its  hand  so  heavily  on  the 
whole  land.  The  events  of  that  time  are  so  fresh  in  the  mem 
ory  of  everv  one  that  it  is  needless  to  recount  them  with  mi 
nuteness.  The  first  action  by  the  town  was  taken  in  April, 
1861,  when  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
purpose  of  arming,  equipping  and  furnishing  volunteers.  A 
committee,  consisting  of  the  Selectmen,  Eben  Sawyer,  J.  P. 
Flint,  John  C.  Webster  and  Daniel  Currier,  was  appointed 
"  to  disburse  the  money.  In  August  of  that  year,  the  town 
voted  to  pay  State  Aid  to  the  families  of  volunters  according 
to  law.  In  July,  1862,  the  town  voted  to  pay  a  bounty  of  one 
hundred  dollars  to  each  volunteer  when  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service.  At  that  time  forty-seven  men  were 
called  for ;  oh  the  second  of  August  the  town  held  another 
meeting  in  which  it  was  voted  to  pay  two  hundred  dollars  in 
addition  to  the  sum  already  voted — making  three  hundred  in 
all — to  volunteers  when  mustered  into  the  service.  Immedi 
ately  after  came  another  order  from  the  President  for  300,000 
"nine  months  men."  A  meeting  was  at  once  called  to  adopt 
measures  to  obtain  the  number  required  from  Methuen.  It  was 


OF    METHUEN.  39 

voted  to  pay  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  each  nine  months 
man  when  mustered  in  and  credited  to  the  town.  The  next 
call  for  recruits  came,  in  November,  1863,  and  the  town  voted 
l'  to  fill  its  quota  under  the  call  for  300,000  men."  It  also 
voted  to  pay  the  families  of  dratted  men  the  same  State  Aid 
that  was  paid  to  families  of  volunteers.  In  May,  1874,  the  Se 
lectmen  were  authorized  to  pay  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars  bounty  to  volunteers  in  anticipation  of  a  call  from  the 
President  for  more  men.  After  this  time,  however,  few  re 
cruits  were  mustered  in.  The  volunteers  from  Methuen  were 
scattered  through  several  different  regiments,  but  the  largest 
number  was  in  Company  B,  ist  Heavy  Artillery,  Leverett 
Bradley,  Captain. 

The  heaviest  blow  received  by  Methuen  men  was  in  the 
battle  of  Spotsylvania,  where  fifteen  were  killed  and  many 
more  wounded.  The  news  that  the  company  from  Methuen 
had  suffered  heavily  in  the  battle,  caused  great  excitement 
throughout  the  town,  and  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  im 
mediately  held.  Resolutions  expressive  of  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  were  passed,  and  it  was  voted  to  send  an  agent  to  look 
after  the  wounded. 

It  ought  to  be  mentioned  here  that  the  Methuen  company 
held  an  honorable  position  in  this  regiment  of  eighteen  hun 
dred  men.  At  the  battle  of  June  16,  the  regimental  .color- 
bearer  was  twice  shot  down.  Our  well-known  townsman, 
Albert  L.  Dame,  was  then  given  this  honorable  and  danger 
ous  place  in  the  regiment,  and  had  the  honor  of  carrying  them 
to  the  end  of  the  war,  and  delivering  them  up  to  the  State. 

The  number  of  men  lost  by  Methuen  during  the  war  was 
fifty-two,  exclusive  of  those  serving  in  the  navy.  According 
to  Gen.  Schouler,  the  town  ''furnished  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men  for  the  war,  which  was  a  surplus  of  fifty-one 
over  and  above  all  demands.  Fifteen  were  commissioned  of- 


40  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

ficers.  The  whole  amount  of  money  appropriated  and  ex 
pended  by  the  town  on  account  of  the  war,  exclusive  of  State 
Aid,  was  $38,651.73.  In  addition  to  this  amount,  $7,500.00 
were  gratuitously  given  by  individual  citizens  to  aid  soldiers1 
families  and  encourage  recruiting."  The  total  amount  of  State 
Aid  which  has  been  paid  to  soldiers  and  their  families  in  this 
town  up  to  Feb.  I,  1876,  is  $43,224.37.  There  was  about  a 
thousand  dollars  in  money  raised  by  fairs  and  levees,  and  the 
ladies  of  Methuen  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time  to  work  for  the 
soldiers.  There  were  two  societies,  the  Sanitary  and  Chris 
tian  Commission  which  performed  a  vast  amount  of  work 
whose  value  cannot  be  measured  in  dollars  and  cents. 

Thus  it  appears  that  there  must  have  been  paid  out  in  this 
town,  directly  on  account  of  the  war,  more  than  ninety  thous 
and  dollars.  As  we  look  back  over  the  record  of  Methuen  in 
the  recent  conflict,  on  the  readiness  with  which  our  men  mus 
tered  in  the  field,  and  the  heartiness  with  which  they  were 

• 

supported  by  those  left  at  home,  we  cannot  help  believing  that 
this  generation  has  proved  itself  not  unworthy  its  Revolution 
ary  ancestry. 

In  1826  or  '27,  a  small  fire  engine,  the  "Tiger,"  was  bought, 
one-half  the  cost  being  paid  by  the  Methuen  Co.,  and  the  oth 
er  half  by  Major  Osgood,  John  Davis,  Thomas  Thaxter,  Geo. 
A.  Waldo,  and  J.  W.  Carleton.  Thomas  Thaxter  was  the 
first  foreman.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  town  had 
any  concern  in  its  management.  This  was  the  only  protection 
against  fire  until  1846,  when  the  Selectmen  were  authorized 
to  purchase  a  new  fire  engine  and  hose,  and  erect  a  house. 
This  engine  (the  Spiggot)  was  manned  by  an  active  and  ef 
ficient  company,  and  did  good  service  till  1870,  when  the 
steamer,  E.  A.  Straw,  was  purchased  and  the  "  Spiggot"  laid 
aside. 

One  of  the  first   things  done  by  the  old  settlers,  was  to  lay 


OF    METHUEN.  41 

out  a  place  to  bury  their  dead.     In  1828,  the  town  voted  "that 
there  should  be  a  graveyard  provided  in  the  town,  somewhere 
near  the  meeting-house,"  and  chose  Win.  Whittier  and  Josh 
ua  Swan  to  measure  and  bound  out  the  said  graveyard  !     Their 
report  to  the  town  describes  the  lot  as  follows:      "Beginning 
with  a  small  pine  tree  marked  with  the  letter  B,  thence  run 
ning  southerly  to  a  pine  stump  marked  with  B    twenty  rods  in 
length,  thence  to  a  pine  tree  marked  with  a  B,  north-easterly 
about  six  or  seven  rods  in  width,  and  so  to  another  pine  tree 
marked  with  a  B,  north-westerly  about  twenty  rods,  and  so  to 
the  bounds  first  mentioned."     This  was  undoubtedly  the  north 
end  of  the  '  old  burying-ground  "  on  Meeting-House  Hill.     In 
1803  it  was  enlarged  "on  the  south  side"  and  a  hearse  was 
purchased  "  for  the  more  convenient  solemnization  of  funerals." 
In  i772  the  Selectmen  were  ordered  to  layout  a  burying-ground 
in  the  west  part  of  the  town.     They  laid  out  one-fourth  of  an 
acre,  on    land  given    for    the    purpose,  by  Richard  Whittier. 
This  yard  is  still  used  by  citizens,  and  at  the  last  annual  meet 
ing  a  sum  was  voted    to    enlarge  it.     The  burying-ground  on 
Lawrence    street   was    purchased    and   laid    out   about    1830. 
These  three  burial  places  comprise  those  owned  by  the  town. 
Walnut  Grove  Cemetery  was  laid  out  by  an  association  of  indi 
viduals  in  1853. 

As  has  been  already  stated,  the  church  and.  minister  were 
supported  by  a  town  tax  for  many  years.  The  last  record  of 
a  town  appropriation  for  the  support  of  a  minister,  was  in 
1778.  The  "athadoxt"  meeting-house  first  built,  stood  on 
"Meeting-House  Hill,"  near  the  old  burying-ground,  and  ap 
pears  to  have  been  the  only  place  for  public  worship  in  the 
town  for  nearly  fifty  years. 

In  1796,  the  old  house  was  torn  down  and  a  new  one  built 
on  the  same  spot.  The  building  of  this  house  seems  to  have 
excited  much  interest  throughout  the  town,  and  it  is  a  curious 


42  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

fact,  illustrating  the  habits  of  the  time,  that  it  was  voted, 
u  That  the  spectators  be  given  a  drink  of  grog  apiece  at  the 
raising." 

As  the  village  sprung  up  around  Spicket  falls,  "Meeting 
House  Hill "  ceased  to  be  the  most  central  place,  and  to  better 
accommodate  the  congregation,  it  was  decided,  in  1832,  to  re 
move  the  house  to  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  stone  meet 
ing-house.  It  stood  there  until  1855,  when  the  wooden  house 
was  torn  down,  and  the  present  stone  house  erected. 

In  1766,  a  second  church  was  organized,  with  Rev.  Eliphaz 
Chapman,  pastor.  Soon  after  the  u  Second  Parish"  was  formed 
by  act  of  the  Legislature.  We  understand  that  under  this  ar 
rangement  every  taxable  person  in  town  was  taxed  for  the 
support  of  the  minister,  but  he  paid  to  the  parish  instead  of 
the  town.  The  meeting-house  is  said  to  have  stood  near  the 
house  of  Leonard  Wheeler.  It  was  afterwards  located  near 
the  house  of  Stephen  W.  Williams,  whence  it  was  removed 
to  Lawrence  and  afterwards  burnt. 

The  Second  Parish  existed  for  half  a  century — until  1816 — 
when  it  was  united  with  the  First  Parish.  In  1830  it  was 
again  organized,  but  was  again  united  with  the  old  church 
and  parish.  At  present  there  is  but  one  Congregational  church 
in  the  town. 

The  next  church,  in  point  of  age,  is  the  Baptist.  From  an 
historical  discourse  delivered  at  the  semi-centennial  celebra 
tion  of  that  church  and  society,  we  gather  the  following 
statements :  For  many  years  there  had  been  persons  of  that 
faith  scattered  through  the  town.  It  is  said  that  a  Baptist 
church  was  constituted  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  some  time 
in  the  last  century,  but  no  records  of  its  formation  or  subse 
quent  proceedings  are  to  be  found.  The  house  in  which  they 
worshipped  was  built  about  1778,  near  the  burying-ground 
west  of  the  Bartlet  farm.  The  number  of  persons  holding 


OF    METHUEN.  43 

that  faith  increased  until  1815,  when  a  church  was  constituted 
and  steps  taken  for  building  a  meetihg-house.  Several  sites 
were  contemplated,  but  it  was  at  last  voted  to  build  a  "l  two 
story  meeting-house  "  on  a  half-acre  lot  given  by  Bailey  Davis — 
where  the  present  house  now  stands.  In  1840  the  house  was 
rebuilt  on  the  old  site,  and  stood  until  Sunday,  March  14,  1869, 
when  it  took  fire,  during  the  morning  service,  and  was  totally 
destroyed.  The  society  erected  the  house  which  is  now  stand 
ing,  in  the  following  summer,  on  the  old  spot.  This  church  is 
the  only  one  of  its  denomination  in  the  town. 

The  Universalist  church  and  society  was  formed  in  1824. 
For  some  time  previous  to  the  erection  of  a  meeting-house,  the 
congregation  held  their  services  in  a  hall  in  "Wilson  Build 
ing."  As  the  society  grew  in  numbers  and  strength,  it  built 
the  meeting-house  which  it  now  occupies.  The  house  and 
grounds  have,  however,  been  remodeled  and  much  improved 
in  appearance  within  a  few  years.  This  church  is  the  only 
one  of  its  denomination  in  the  town. 

We  are  informed  that  the  Methodist  church  was  first  organ 
ized  in  Methuen  in  1833  or  '34.  For  four  or  five  years  meet 
ings  were  held  in  "  Wilson's  Hall."  A  meeting-house  was 
then  built,  which  was  occupied  a  few  years  and  then  sold  ±o 
the  town,  and  used  as  a  school-house.  After  that  time  the 
church  held  its  meetings  for  many  years  in  the  town-house. 
In  1871  it  built  a  meeting-house  at  the  junction  of  Lowell 
and  Pelham  streets,  and  is  evidently  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
In  1833,  or  thereabouts,  there  was  an  Episcopal  church  formed 
in  Methuen.  Little  can  be  learned  about  it,  and  it  seems  to 
have  had  a  short  existence,  as  an  organized  body. 

Of  the  social  and  charitable  organizations  in  town,  the  Ma 
sons  and  Odd  Fellows  claim  a  passing  notice.  About  1825 
Grecian  Lodge,  F.  A.  A.  M.,  was  formed  in  Methuen,  and 
seems  to  have  prospered  for  a  time,  but  in  the  Anti-Masonic 


44 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


excitement  some  years  after,  it  surrendered  its  charter.  After 
Lawrence  commenced,  the  Lodge  re-organized  under  the  old 
charter,  but  within  the  limits  of  Lawrence.  John  Hancock 
Lodge  was  constituted  in  1860,  and  now  has  138  members. 
It  holds  its  meetings  in  Currier's  building. 

Hope  Lodge,  of  Odd  Fellows,  was  instituted  in  1844,  an<^ 
held  its  meetings  in  Currier's  building.  It  surrendered  its 
charter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1855.  The  Lodge  was  re-in 
stated  in  1869,  and  since  that  time  appears  to  have  flourished. 
It  has  its  meetings  in  "Corliss'  Building,"  and  numbers  no 
members. 

The  growth  of  the  town,  and  the  temper  of  the  times  are  in 
some  measure  indicated  by  the  amount  of  money  raised  for 
municipal  purposes.  Hence  we  present  the  following  table. 
The  item  of  utown  charges"  does  not  include  appropriations  for 
special  purposes  : 

Schools.     Highway. 


Ministry. 
1726      £45  &  'diat' 


1730 
1740 
1750 
1760 
17/0 
1780 
1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
1876 


So 
80 

57 

53-7 
49-14 


Uncertain 


£100 
1 1 

50 
60 


500 

2OOO 

3° 

150 

$  3°° 

$700 

45° 

1200 

500 

1200 

800 

I5OO 

1000 

I5OO 

1700 

1800 

2500 

I800 

7000 

3000 

8000 

4OOO 

Town  charges. 
£130 
60 
80 
20 

3° 

70 

6000 

100 
$800 

700 
1500 
1 200 
2500 
35°° 

35°° 
10,900 

1 1 ,050 


OF    METHUEN.  45 

The  period  of  ten  years  just  ended,  has  undoubtedly  been 
the  most  prosperous  of  any  in  the  town's  history.  The  in 
crease  in  wealth  and  population,  is  shown  by  the  following 
figures,  obtained  at  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Labor.  The 
first  official  census  was  taken  in  1765,  hence  it  is  impossible  to 
ascertain  the  population  prior  to  that  time. 

Date.          Population. 

1765  933  Colonial  Census 

1776  1326  "                " 

1790  I297  United  States  Census 

1800  1253  "            "  " 

1810  1181  "            "  " 

1820  1371  "           "  u 

1830  2006  "           "  " 

1840  2251  "  " 

1850  2538  "           "  " 

1860  2566  4t           "  " 

1865  2576  State  u 

1870  2959  United  States  " 

1875  4205  State  " 


46  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


INDUSTRIAL     STATISTICS,    1875. 


MANUFACTURES. 

Number.       ?<***!*  v^  of  Goods 

Invested.  Manufactured. 

Boots  and  shoes,                                  3         $130,000  $420,000 

Cotton  and  jute  goods,                       i              $0,000  609,942 

Harnesses,                                            i                 1,000  4,000 

Hats,  woolen,                                     3              85,000  610,000 

Stoves  and  tinware,                           2                 5o°°  n^S00 

Woolen  shawls  and  cloaking,          i             150,000  35°?75° 

OCCUPATIONS. 

Blacksmithing                                     3                 1,600  8,400 

Butchering,                                          5                 2,600  36,900 

Carpentering  and  joinery,                2                3?5°°  38,000 

Harness  and  saddle  repairing        '  i                    600  600 

Hat-tip  printing,                                i                    550  850 

Masoning,                                            i                 1,000  10,000 

Painting,                                                3                 1^250  5,000 

Roofing,                                                i                    500  200 

Stone-cutting  and  dressing,              i                    500  2,300 

Tinsmithing,                                       2                3,100  I?5oo 

Watch  repairing,                                i                    300  2,000 

Wheelwrighting,                                i                 I?5°°  4,000 

AGGREGATES. 

Manufactures  (goods  made) ,        -n             461,500  2,006,192 

Occupations  (work  done) ,             22               17,000  109,750 

33        $478>5°°  $2,115,942 
Value  of  domestic  and  agricultural  products,  1875,     $230,802 


OF    METHUEN.  47 

The  increase  in  value  of  the  manufactures  of  Methuen,  in 
ten  years,  is  as  follows  : 

1865         $766.872  Gold  at  $i  .57 

1875  2,115,942          Gold  at    1. 12 

These  values  in  gold  would  be, 

1865         $488,453 
1875          1,889,234 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  actual  value  of  the  manufactures  of 
the  town  nearly  quadrupled  during  the  last  ten  years.  The  in 
crease  in  population,  in  that  time,  was  1629.  or  64  per  cent.,  a 
rate  of  increase  greater  than  that  of  any  other  town  in  Massa 
chusetts. 

When  the  census  was  taken  in  1875,  it  was  found  that  there 
were  about  3000  inhabitants  in  Methuen  village,  showing  that 
the  increase  in  population  was  in  the  manufacturing,  rather 
than  the  agricultural  part  of  the  town. 

The  following  figures,  taken  from  the  valuation  books, 
show  the  changes  in  different  classes  of  taxable  property  for 
ten  years  : 

1865.  1870.  1876. 

Polls,                                       651  880  I,IOT 

Real  estate,                     $954,963  $1,261,077  $1,709,900 

Personal  estate,                 308,084  543,250  600,870 

Total  tax,                        24,849.80  33,415.67  Z7^5ll-57 

Rate  per  thousand,               18.81  17.35  15.30 

No.  dwelling-houses,              455  5*9  649 

No.  horses,                                262  319  447 

No.  cows,                                 645  722  907 

No.  sheep,                                 106  18  6 
No.  of  acres  taxed  in  town,  13,283. 


48  HISTORICAL    SKETCH 

From  these  statistics  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  we  have  of 
late  been  passing  through  a  remarkable  period  of  material 
growth.  There  has  been  no  great  speculative  rise  in  the  value 
of  property,  and  no  such  depreciation  within  a  year  or  two,  as 
is  almost  universal  throughout  the  country.  The  variety  of 
manufaciuring  interests  in  the  town,  the  proximity  to  Law 
rence,  and  close  connection  by  the  horse  railroad — which  has 
been  in  operation  since  1867 — have  combined  to  prevent  that 
utter  stagnation  in  business  which  is  so  severely  felt  in  many 
manufacturing  towns.  Within  a  year,  about  twenty  dwelling- 
houses  have  been  built,  and  nearly  ten  thousand  dollars  expend 
ed  in  special  public  improvements. 

We  have  thus  given  an  imperfect  outline  of  the  history  of 
Methuen,  to  the  present  time,  and  close  our  sketch  with  the 
full  knowledge  that  much  of  interest  has  been  omitted. 

Had  there  been  sufficient  opportunity  we  should  have  been 
glad  to  collect  and  record  more  of  the  old  legends  of  the  early 
days,  and  to  have  ascertained  more  facts  in  relation  to  our 
Revolutionary  soldiers.  It  would  also  have  been  interesting 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  men  who  have  been  prominent  in 
guiding  the  affairs,  and  influencing  the  character  of  the  town, 
for  the  last  century  and  a  half.  But,  as  was  said  in  the  outset, 
the  time  allotted  to  examine  records  and  prepare  this  paper, 
has  not  permitted  a  more  perfect  or  extended  history  than  is 
here  given. 

We  submit  it  to  the  charitable  consideration  of  the  reader 
in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  estimated  by  what  has  been  done, 
regardless  of  what  is  omitted. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


KAKY  LOAN 

FEB111982 


B£C,ciR.APR6  '82 

INTERLIBRARY  LOAI 
JAN  3  1  1983 

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